The Yakima Gunwale Brackets carry a canoe by the gunwales with a soft, rounded shape. These brackets make the canoe easier to load, thanks to rounded outer edge and a lower height.

The Gunwale Brackets are quick and easy to install on round or square crossbars. Yakima's long lasting stainless steel hardware insures the good times keep rolling. One pair of heavy duty straps with padded buckles included. Safe transporting is completed with Bow/Stern tie down straps-sold seperately (see Related Products to the right).

For the last few years, I used a home grown system of pipe insulation (think "cross bar pads" to minimize vibrations), straps and tie downs with decent success. I began looking for these after driving home from a trip last summer on a particularly windy day, when my canoe began slowly shifting to the side on the freeway. I got it stabalized after stopping to re-center, tightening the straps and driving at 50 MPH, but it was an experience I did not care to repeat.

I've now used these bracekets three times (400+ miles each trip) in the last six weeks, two of those trips had stretches much windier than the drive mentioned above. Not once did the canoe begin to shift on me (even at 70 MPH). While I may have been able to make something myself with 90 degree brackets and hose clamps, this LOOKS nice, is padded and will probably stand the tests of nature much better.

This is a pretty basic product at first glance. It provides lateral stability to a load, with a focus aimed at canoes. That said, it works.

It was easy to install. Once in place, it helps center the canoe front to back (the widest part of the canoe rests between the brackets, move the canoe forward or backward until it sits snug at all four points) and the tie down straps keep the load tight to the cross bars.

Anyone buying this should know that they will still want to use tie downs (I use ratcheting load straps) to the front and rear of the vehicle.

I would give it five stars if it had:

1) Included tie downs for the front / rear of the car, or had at least made it more obvious in the literature that they were needed. From looking at the design, from my own experiences and from seeing it mentioned in other reviews, I knew I'd need them and this wasn't a surprise to me when I used them the first time. On the other hand, I would think Yakima would make that clearer for the casual / first time user.

2) Had some way of locking the brackets to your bar. In theory, someone could quite easily take the brackets off the bars if no canoe was in place. I'm not sure how Yakima would accomplish this and I don't consider it a significant flaw, but it is something to be aware of if you have problems with such things in your neighborhood.

In all, this is a GREAT product and I would buy them again (I hope I never need to though). ;-)